Fresno State Bulldogs vs. No. 13 UCLA Bruins: Play-action is a problem, and things to watch

Fresno State takes on No. 13 UCLA Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and its ability to slow the Bruins’ run game will play a large part in the outcome.

But the most interesting matchup for the Bulldogs might be elsewhere on that side of the ball.

Fresno State hasn’t had to worry much about opposing tight ends through three games. UConn, Oregon and Cal Poly did not make great use of the position – a combined 13 targets and eight receptions for an average of 4.5 yards with two first downs and the longest play just 11 yards.

But the tight end has life in the UCLA offense with 6-foot-4 and 250-pound Greg Dulcich, who could be a challenge for the Bulldogs on early downs and off play-action given the strength of the Bruins’ run game.

“He definitely reminds me of some of the tight ends that I’ve seen, historically, at my alma mater, the University of Iowa,” Bulldogs defensive coordinator William Inge said. “He is long. He is athletic. He is aggressive.

“He is great at the point of contact, but out in space when he is running vertically down the seams you haven’t seen many guys that can run with him. It’s going to be a challenge, for sure.”

Dulcich in the past season-plus two games has caught 13 of his 30 passes on first down, averaging 27.7 yards per catch. Five of his six touchdown receptions also have come on first-down plays, with the other on second down.

He was targeted a team-high seven times in the Bruins’ 38-27 victory over LSU and caught three passes for 117 yards including a 75-yard TD that came on … you guessed it, a first-down play off play-action. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson faked a handoff to Zach Charbonnet with the running back and offensive line all headed into the boundary and then hit a wide-open Dulcich on the opposite hash mark 15 yards down field.

Dulcich slipped a tackle and took it the rest of the way, tackled and tumbling into the end zone.

The Bruins’ tight end last season caught a 69-yard TD pass against USC and a 17-yard touchdown against Stanford on first-down play-action pass plays and a 21-yard TD against the Cardinal on a second-and-6 off play-action.

What is the Bruins’ experience in secondary worth?

UCLA wouldn’t seem all that tough a matchup for the Bulldogs’ deep set of wideouts, which has produced nine pass plays of 30 or more yards, tied with Nebraska for the most in the nation.

The Bruins are ranked 115th in the nation in passing defense, allowing 286.5 yards per game, and they have played teams in Hawaii and LSU that are not all that proficient throwing the football.

But they also have allowed opponents to hit only 54.5% of their passes, average just 5.8 yards per pass attempt and post a passing efficiency rating of 110.44, and those all are Top 40-type numbers.

They also have three interceptions in two games, another Top 40.

The challenge for the Bulldogs could be UCLA’s personnel in what will be a rare strength-on-strength matchup for those wideouts, and they will see a lot of man coverage from the Bruins.

Obi Eboh and Cameron Johnson start at cornerback, and both are redshirt seniors. Stephan Blaylock and Quentin Lake start at safety, both seniors. Qwuantrezz Knight is the starting nickel, a redshirt senior.

Johnson, who started his career at North Texas, has played in 49 games in his career. Knight, who started his career at Maryland and spent one season at Kent State, has played in 47 games. Eboh played in 39 games at Stanford and has played in seven at UCLA, 46 total.

Starting at UCLA doesn’t make any of them good players, just the best the Bruins have on the roster. But that’s a lot of experience, much more than the Bulldogs dealt with when they nearly upset No. 11 Oregon.

The Ducks started that game with five defensive backs on the field including junior Bennett Williams, the older brother of Bulldogs safety Evan Williams. The others were three sophomores and a redshirt freshman.

Stopping the run

Brittain Brown and Charbonnet, the UCLA running backs, are going to come downhill at the Bulldogs’ defense behind a big, physical and experienced offensive line.

There’s not much mystery there, even if Fresno State has allowed opponents only 2.4 yards per rush. The Bruins have run the ball on 70% of their plays so far this season, and are 2-0 doing so.

“It’s going to be a game of whoever gets in there and whoever has the toughest line, on both sides,” said defensive tackle Kevin Atkins, who had four tackles including 2.0 sacks last week in the victory over Cal Poly.

The question for the Bulldogs is whether they can put four strong quarters together against a Pac-12 run game – they slid a bit in the second half of a 31-24 loss at Oregon. Here are the Ducks’ rushing totals, by quarter …

First – 11 for 38, 3.5 ypp

Second – 10 for 25, 2.5 ypp

Third – 9 for 42, 4.7 ypp

Fourth – 19 for 81, 4.6 ypp

Total – 49 for 186, 3.8 ypp

The magic number for UCLA would appear to be 200. The Bruins under coach Chip Kelly are 9-4 when rushing for 200 or more yards including wins this season over Hawaii and LSU and just 3-17 when they don’t hit that mark.

Rivers’ family fun

Running back Ronnie Rivers enters the game with 4,297 career all-purpose yards, just 92 from moving into fifth place on the Bulldogs’ all-time list.

He also is just 92 yards from knocking his father, Ron Rivers, out of the Top 5 on that list and into the Top 10.

Ron Rivers racked up 4,388 yards from 1991 to ‘93.

Ronnie Rivers has gained 100 or more yards in two of three games this season and in nine of the past 11 including the 2020 season finale against New Mexico when he was limited to just one play because of an injury.

Fresno State at No. 13 UCLA

When: Saturday, 7:45 p.m.

Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena

TV: Pac-12 Network (Ted Robinson and Yogi Roth)

• Find it fast: AT&T (Channels 759, 1759), Comcast (434, 823), Dish Network (409)

Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Pat Hill, Cameron Worrell)

• Find it fast: Fresno (AM1340), Bakersfield (AM970), Visalia (AM1130), Modesto (FM92.9), Stockton (AM1280), Bulldogs app, iHeartMedia app

The coaches: Kalen DeBoer (5-4 in second season), Chip Kelly (12-21 in fourth season, 58-28 overall)

The records: Fresno State 2-1, UCLA 2-0

The series: UCLA leads 6-3

The line: UCLA -11

The last meeting: Fresno State won 38-14 in 2018

This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 9:00 AM.